Of Sunsets and Shooting Stars: an Anthology
by Marchtoyourowndrum
Summary: For Sammy. 5 different perspectives of the journey of Heiji and Shinichi's relationship. From before they knew each other to when everything changes. Missed Meetings. Solved Cases. Unseen Moments. Almost Losses. Unrealized Gains.
1. Heiji

**Author's Note: these were originally a series of drabbles I had written for my little sister Sammy on Tumblr, because she loves Heishin like a lot. Anyways disclaimer I have never actually watched Detective Conan, I watched it when I was younger, but nothing recent and I have never actually watched or read anything with Heiji or Kazuha or that entire group**.

_Of Sunsets and Shooting Stars: an Anthology._

_Chapter 1: Heiji_

Heiji first hears about Shinichi Kudo when he was just a kid.

He doesn't hear it on some radio or the tv the first he hears of this Kudo is through his own father. Trying to gain his father's approval his entire life was tough enough for Heiji and when the faceless kid, though they were the same age, comes out of nowhere and suddenly his father is commenting on how much he enjoys this kids work, how much this kid has helped the police force and the detectives and in a moment of cold harsh truth, his father eyes him for a brief moment and mumbles something along the lines of "if only our police force had a kid like that" and it burns. It settles white hot and blinding in his chest and Heiji slips from the house without so much as a rustle finding himself in the Kendo practice room, it was there in that moment that Heiji pushed himself to become a better detective, if only for his father to speak of him that way, he had been helping out with cases every so often but his father had never spoken of him like that or to him like that.

(but little did Heiji know at that time that the comments of Shinichi were genuine praise but were also to bait Heiji, his father knew he was capable of catching up and even surpassing this other boy but what he lacked, what he had always lacked was conviction.)

Surprisingly enough, not much is said of Kudo in their household for the next few years, people in the department will sometimes throw out the comparison but otherwise than that Shinichi Kudo's name drops from their house. It was until Heiji was 16 did he ever actually see him. They were supposed to of met once, at a ski lodge but the duo had never met and though Heiji won't admit it the abandonment cut him deep.

But when Heiji was 16 he was through with being compared to this faceless counterpart of his and he took a motorcycle and skipped his classes hell-bent on finding this Kudo. And he did. It may have taken him a few hours to even drive there and locate the town but he had seen him. He wasn't even doing anything special, school had just released and he was with one girl and idly dribbling a soccer ball, it took Heiji back for a moment, he was expecting some pompous guy who was milking his 'fame' for all it was worth, but this kid was so similar to him that instead of confronting him or challenging him Heiji just smirked readjusted his cap and melted back out of the scene.

Of course Heiji hears when Kudo has seemingly disappeared from a theme park and the spark of worry that ignites in him feels a little unexpected but Heiji pays no heed to that more worried over his 'rival' Up until now Heiji had no idea just how much his life was going to change with Kudo in it, for how could he know when the two of them hadn't even met face to face yet?

But he does and theres a certain glow pride and something else when he figures that Kudo has been deaged into this Conan character. In retrospect, this is probably where Heiji lost himself.

Somehow over the course of the next few weeks and months together Heiji finds himself and Shinichi being drawn towards each other. He doesn't resist it, not even a moment's hesitation, he declares himself Kudo's best friend, helping keep up the ruse of Conan, the little thrill that goes up his spine when it is just him and Kudo alone and he freely calls him "Kudo" while Shinichi as Conan refers to him as "Hattori" and not the slightly weird Heiji-niisan that he uses when others are around. He misses the looks in Kazuha and Ran's eyes when he refers to Kudo or when he's solving cases he doesn't understand why whenever he brings up Shinichi that Kazuha goes still or shakes her head and looks at him imploringly like he's leaving out a punch line to a joke he wasn't aware he started. The small accepting smile that follows this look still throws Heiji off.

Things change and for one so perceptive it takes Heiji a long time to catch up. The few moments when Conan is brought back into being Shinichi there is a weird feeling that usually accompanies Heiji feels warm, comforting and Heiji struggles to put a name to it.

Things start to happen, Heiji, who was usually prone to not being a reckless mess, leaps before he looks, he takes multiple injuries to protect Shinichi and in a moment of panic at Shinichi's real identity being discovered throws his favorite hat, the one he never goes anywhere without, and whips it on top of Shinichis head, the warm feeling is back when Shinichi's confused eyes blink up at him from under the rim of the cap. Later on when he sees Ran in the hat and Shinichi laughing beside her something ugly curls into his chest making him fingers loosely curl into fists he stalks off briefly to collect himself, wondering where his calm went, before coming back, once again Kazuha is giving him the small smile and for the life of him Heiji can't figure it out and it drives him insane.

He discovers it though. One day.

Shinichi had been in his normal body and was passed out next to Heiji in a room that they were sharing for a case, and Heiji happened to glance over at Kudo and was struck still, the moon had filtered through the blinds and cast lines of light over the boy next to him and Heiji momentarily forgot how it was to breathe, his fingers twitched in anticipation the strongest desire to trace the contours of his face, of his neck. of him. Heiji swallowed thickly and flopped into his own bed.

Ironically, everything made sense then. Kudo had always been a person to look up to a way to judge his own skills, but once he met he realized he was so much more than that and unknowingly he had fallen in love with the boy who was his supposed rival. Sighing deeply Heiji fell asleep to restless dreams.

Of course though, Heiji doesn't act on these feelings for quite some time. He was so sure that Kudo had harbored feelings for Ran and Heiji was content to keep his title of best friend. It wasn't until Ran was going out on dates with some guy the two of them knew from school did a small glimmer of hope filter into Heijis heart, but of course, this is when everything falls apart.

Heiji is kidnapped when someone was going after Shinichi and Heiji didn't have time to think he saw the attacker and threw Kudo out of the way taking the bullet to the leg himself and being dragged into a car, before he blacked out the last thing he sees is Kudo standing where he just was holding Heiji's hat and yelling after them. A small smile graces Heiji's face and he thinks this isnt the worst way to go.

He comes to later, in a hospital, apparently the bullet had been laced with some paralytic poison and by pushing Kudo out of the way and taking it in the leg he saved his life. All of their friends visit and bring him flowers and well wishes but no sign of Kudo.

It wasn't until late that he sees him, leaning in the corner of the room Heiji's white hat still clutched into his palms. A moment of tense silence passes between them as they stare at each other. Surprisingly it is Kudo who breaks first, he falls heavily into the seat and in a ravaged voice whispers, "I thought I had lost you" and Heiji's response is dying on his tongue because Kudo grabbed the front of his shirt and presses their lips together in a kiss that feels almost desperate. Heiji briefly wonders how bad the situation had been, Kudo pulls back looking ashamed and before any words can be said Heiji smiles at this boy who has somehow gone from a goal to being his everything and grabs his shirt in response pulling him back in for another, slower, deeper kiss.

The breathe of relief and smile from Shinichi that Heiji feels rather than sees fills him with such happiness and pride that Heiji doesn't think he had ever been more content and no amount of praise would amount to what he was feeling with Kudo in that moment of time hidden away between just the two of them.


	2. Shinichi

_Of Sunsets and Shooting Stars: An Anthology_

_Chapter 2: Shinichi_

There was something about being praised as a genius; prodigy, or even above normal, that was so completely suffocating that on his best days Shinichi felt as if he were drowning.

He loved his parents, Shinichi was always welcomed to share his mind and grow up to truly be himself and not a carbon copy of what his parents wanted, but even so, from such a young age being called all of those things put the world of Shinichis shoulders. Even Ran, his best friend, was not safe from this. She would often praise him for anything from his detective skills to his soccer skills and Shinichi felt his wits coming to an end.

he was tired.

he was done with all of this talk, and he loved detective work, he lived for it, but going through it day after day with people always saying the same things, put and insurmountable burden on him, he felt if he was not always being the best or performing the best that he was failing and he was letting everyone he had ever known down.

Then he heard about Heiji Hattori.

The detective in the West, people proclaimed them to be so similar that Shinichi often spent time wondering Heiji suffered the same burdens he did. It seemed as if he did, Hattori's Kendo to Shinichi's soccer, and both of them having the task detective work often falling to their shoulders.

He wanted to meet him.

It was a slow-building thing at first. A niggling thought in the back of his mind that soon became all encompassing, he wondered how the other would react if they met. Ran began to tease him, the jibes at a girl taking over his mind, Shinichi would idly wonder what she would do if she found out that no it was not a girl who his thoughts felt concentrated on, but his so-called rival. (the media had somehow painted them to be bitter rivals though the two had never met. The closest was one missed meeting in the dark times of winter)

Shinichi wanted to meet him, at least once, and when he was in the midst of planning how to get to Hattori, without tipping off anyone (especially Ran, who would most likely come along with or without approval, and Kogoro by extension who, while not being as involved as Ran would probably find something to pick on him with) the unexpected happened.

He was turned into a child.

For a brief moment before the panic set in, Shinichi was so relieved because as a child he had none of the previous burdens on his shoulders. He could start over, do whatever he wanted. But quickly enough the old tasks where back and he was doing everything he did before just as a child this time.

Something settles inside Shinichi wondering if Hattori had heard that Shinichi Kudo had dropped off the face of the earth, if maybe he was now gloating over the loss of his 'rival', the idea that Hattori would rather him not be there, though they had still never met, hurt Shinichi down to the core. He didn't exactly know why it felt as if his heart were tearing when he imagined Hattori (imagine being this upset over a boy he's never met) being happier with him gone.

They actually meet sometime later, and once Hattori walked in the door, before even asking for him, he knew, deep in his bones that this was Heiji Hattori. It's shocking to say the least the he figures him out so quickly. Kogoro and Ran, the father of his best friend and his best friend respectively, had been tricked by his guise as Conan for so long that when Hattori came in and found the truth out in a few quick moments, it's like a breath of fresh air.

Shinichi hadn't realized that he had been drowning in the expectations that were put on him for so long, that when this boy came in so similar to him and saw through his tricks, he felt as if Heiji knew what the expectations felt like, and he felt himself claw a little bit closer to the surface. Shinichi starts to wonder when the opinion and actions of this boy affected him so deeply, but thinking on it now, Shinichi doesn't know if he'd be able to breathe properly without Heiji close by, the easy-going behavior drawing him out from the easily encasing masks and guards of Shinichis past.

Normally, Shinichi would be guarded to a fast developing friendship like the one ignited between himself and Heiji. He had one best friend through the first 17 years of his life and he was not so easy to trust new people in his life. But Heiji came into his life like a windstorm and scattered the leaves of his past life, and settled down nicely, a permanent fixture in his life, Heiji had unwittingly made himself a home very close to Shinichis heart. The times when Heiji comes in on cases Shinichi feels himself relax, this entire lie he has going is much easier to bear when there is someone to bear it with you. Ran throws him curious glances and Kazuha always watches him closely, when he is actually Shinichi that is.

As Conan, Shinichi finds himself able to just settle into the nice companionship between the two, these days always seem to be a little bit bright than the others. They refer to each other by their first names and it came so easily and unexpectedly that Shinichi gaped for a moment after it had happened and Heiji had departed.

When Shinichi, as his actual self not as Conan, begins to bring up Heiji more and more during cases, he doesn't understand the abject sadness he can see in Ran or the gentle ribbing from Kogoro. Shinichi just brushes it off; he can only be actually 17 for so long, so he wasn't going to waste it on the idiosyncrasies of his close friends.

Heiji is always throwing himself into danger and it drives Shinichi up the wall with nerves. He never understood that recklessness, and while Shinichi does the same thing too in reverse, when Heiji does it Shinichi just wants to beat him over the head and tell him to stay safe. But for once, unlike everyone else, Heiji doesn't comply with his demands. He keeps coming back, placing himself in harm's way to save Shinichi or to make sure the lie of Conan stays in place.

Like the time Heiji gave him his hat to protect his identity, Shinichi feels warmth cover his entire body and he was momentarily so glad for the cover of his hat so Heiji couldn't see the bright flush covering his face. He wants to keep the hat to himself, but he reluctantly places it on Ran's head, if he did not he would have never let go of it. The tint of betrayal in Heiji's eyes when he sees the hat on Ran burns Shinichi to the core. Kazuha then spends the evening throwing Heiji small glances and Shinichi wonders if he could have been so blind to have not seen something between them.

He feels sick.

Shinichi has an idea what this feeling is but he is too afraid for once to think too deeply on it. If he were being completely honest he knew the exact moment when he actually identified the feeling, it wasn't even a special moment, it just was.

Heiji had come in from the warm autumn sun while on a case and Shinichi had looked up when the door slid open and his lungs constricted, the golden lights bathed him and clung to his skin and the smell of autumn drifted in after him and Shinichi wanted to gasp because he knew what his was and his body twitched with anticipation to run forward and be part of that, be part of him. He gripped his fists into the pants of his legs (he was luckily for the moment 17 and not a 9 year old) and tamped down the strong urge to join Heiji and just be.

He wakes up again in the middle of the night and looks to where Heiji is asleep near him, the urge to join him is back and in his sleep deprived state Shinichi barely kept himself in place. He was in love and he had absolutely no idea what to do. He had never been lost like this before and once again he was sinking.

Then everything turns to shit.

When Heiji is shot and kidnapped in place of Shinichi his heart constricts and he is so lost and so angry and so emotionally driven that he never knew he could feel like this.

He had yelled his throat raw after the car had taken Heiji away and for quite some time Shinichi thinks he would never see him again. He only relaxes when Heiji is safe and healing in a hospital bed some time later.

He hadn't realized he had been gripping his hat until finally, once everyone is gone and Shinichi feels the breath return to his lungs that he realizes he has Heijis white hat in a death grip. Shinichi moves forward and he voice is still so raw from what happened and the emotions behind his words that they come out raspy and strained. Heijis is looking up at him so confused and slightly hopeful that the relief floods through Shinichi and he acts on impulse and kisses the man in front of him, his rival turned best friend turned something more.

A few seconds pass and the shame filters in and Shinichi knew he had to be wrong and he pulls away, afraid he had ruined this forever, but Heijis smile clears away all doubt and clouds in his mind and the responding kiss is so much more than it was. Shinichi has never felt more at peace than he did in that moment.

He had been suffocating by himself drowning in expectations, but finding Heiji who had the same burdens upon his shoulder had helped him get out of it, little by little they had pulled themselves from the dense water that had swallowed them whole until they found a peaceful home in each other.


	3. Kazuha

_Of Sunsets and Shooting Stars: An Anthology_

_Chapter 3: Kazuha_

Kazuha Toyama was a bright girl.

Being the daughter of a policeman had given her a working knowledge of most firearms, a high level aikido skill, and placed her with a honed set of analytical skills, though she was not as sharp as her childhood best friend Heiji Hattori people often overlooked or even forgot the fact that while Heiji may be vocalizing everything he had noticed when he stepped in the room, Kazuha had noticed a fair share of it too.

But she didn't really mind the spotlight on Heiji, he was better suited to deal with all of the attention and his skills were, as she had begrudgingly admitted once, above her own. While Heiji was far better at the actual detective work and reasoning and picking up on small details criminals had left behind, Kazuha found that she could often pick up on small details that people themselves left out of their expressions and tone. She was better a human details, she could easily understand someones motivations and emotions behind actions and, for her, that often led her to all the details she needed to solve anything.

So really it isn't surprising that her first instinct about this 'Kudo' ends up being true in a very roundabout way. But the road to the truth takes a long detour and Kazuha had pretty much forgotten about it by the time it had happened.

When Heiji first comes back after ditching school for the day to see his supposed 'rival', Kazuha hadn't really paid the story that much attention. Heiji had always been a very act first, think later kind of boy growing up so she wasn't totally surprised that he skipped school to visit a rival he'd never actually declared a rivalry with, though the fact that he never actually talked to his rival (once again, her mind dryly adds) gave her a slight pause.

But again she just puts off the meeting, in her mind until Heiji sweeps out to Tokyo to help the police force solve something and apparently going to meet this rival of his for real this time.

He comes back different and that doesn't sit all that well with Kazuha.

It's not a bad different but he seems happier, and then once she asks about the trip, the words don't stop coming out of his mouth. He goes from topic to topic quickly and everything about this Kudo he had met there.

It burns Kazuha a little, this Kudo girl whoever she was Kazuha can't help but hate her a little. It was no secret that Kazuha had been harboring a flame for Heiji since they were kids and it hurts a little bit that Heiji apparently never felt the same.

She hears in a passing comment from Heiji that he invited "Kudo and some friends" to visit them in Osaka. Kazuhas jealousy burns deep and bright and strong. She feels like these strangers are intruding on something that had been her and Heijis until then. She dreads the thought of seeing Kudo and Heiji together. They'll probably be disgustingly cute and Kazuha doesn't know if she can stomach that.

It's only when the girl Kazuha assumes to be Kudo, changes clothes and keeps looking so confused when Kazuha makes veiled cold remarks and allusions to the relationship between her and Heiji that Kazuha realizes, with no small amount of shame, that this is not Kudo.

Kazuha asks the girl, Ran not Kudo, who this Kudo is and Ran laughs a little and mentions her childhood friend Shinichi Kudo. Kazuha's mind instantly connects that name with the faceless profile of Heiji's rival and right there Kazuha has a crystallizing moment. Kazuha may have been wrong about Kudo being a girl, but his gender did nothing to change the enthusiastic way Heiji talked about him. Kazuha smirks, she doesn't think Heiji even knows himself yet and she wasn't going to push that anywhere.

Though for some reason the knowledge that she at least knows the real name of who this Kudo is gives Kazuha a sense of relief and she isn't sure what it is from.

To be honest the evidence keeps piling up that Kazuha's former suspicions had been right. The talking about Kudo doesn't slow any. In fact Heiji keeps making more and more trips out to Tokyo to visit Ran and Kogoro and the boy Conan, and Kazuha secretly suspects that he sees Kudo while he is there also. Kazuha tags along for quite a few of these.

Despite their earlier meeting Kazuha and Ran develop a quick friendship and Kazuha wonders if Kudo talks about Heiji in the same intensity Heiji talks about Kudo. Kazuha feels a flush of protectiveness warm her body over the fact that she doesn't know if Kudo would treat Heiji the same. She eventually meets this Kudo person and Kazuha finds herself feeling a sort of camaraderie with the boy for an unknown reason. Kazuha finds herself spending a lot of time watching Heiji and Kudo interact and she is slightly surprised the boys seem oblivious to the others and their own feelings and endearments.

The first major thing is Heiji's hat. She knew how precious that hat was to Heiji and he never let just anyone wear it and he never passed it off so carelessly. But when she sees Heiji whip of his own hat onto Kudo's head, for a reason she hasn't found yet, her interest is piqued. It's only when Kudo gets a look of shame and guilt when he passes the hat to Ran and Heiji barely reels his anger in that Kazuha is well on her way to forming a hypothesis about their relationship or lack thereof.

It's a few months later when they are all together on a case and staying in the clients home that Kazuha notices a slight change, there had not been enough rooms for everyone to get their own room, so when Ran's father, Kogoro, had bounded to the first room declaring it his and promptly slid the door shut did the other 4 realize that they'd have to share the last 2. Ran and Kazuha took the first one leaving Kudo and Heiji to share the last one.

The next morning Kazuha isn't the only one to see the slight change. She notices Ran's eyes on them for a beat, and kazuha vaguely wonders if she had been in love with Kudo and if this was her crystallizing moment. Kogoro, she assumes, doesn't notice because he had caught the first whiff of bacon and took off running. But Heiji and Kudo both seem slightly dazed around each other, they interact normally so Kazuha knows nothing directly happened between them, but it makes her wonder what could of conspired to make the one stare dumbly at the other's head when they thought they were paying attention. Kazuha sighs. Boys were always oblivious to these things.

Unsurprisingly nothing noteworthy happens between the boys for quite sometime. Kazuha wonders if she read them wrong or if maybe Ran and Kudo were an item, but then Ran gets a boyfriend who definitely not Kudo and Kazuha can only wonder what is taking them so long. But then Heiji is kidnapped and everything turns south until he's back. She had been scared and worried for her best friend, but when Kazuha saw Kudo clutching at Heijis hat, face as white as his knuckles, his words curt and tense with all of them, Kazuha remembers her old fear of Heiji being the only one with a stake to lose in their relationship and that worry evaporates completely. Kudo is wrecked with Heiji gone. The precision in which Kudo gives orders is scary and he pays no heed to anyone in the room, he rushes in to the place where Heiji had been captive and helps take down the captors with such cold ferocity that Kazuha dimly wonders what would that scene of been like if something fatal had happened to Heiji. Kudo's entire body relaxes when Heiji is being loaded onto the ambulance, at least that's what Kazuha sees from her spot beside Heiji, being the closest he had to family in Tokyo the ambulance had made a small exception and let her ride along. Kudo still has the hat firmly in his grasp, but he doesn't look so destroyed now that Heiji is safe.

Heiji milks his stay in the hospital for all it's worth. Getting food and gifts from everyone who walks through the door, Kudo has yet to go in though, Kazuha had seen him loitering in the hallways and the way Heiji's eyes jerk up to the door whenever he hears someone nearby is a telling enough sign that he had yet to visit. Kazuha is one of the last to leave the room, but loops around when she realizes that her gift for Heiji was still in her pocket, she gets to the entrance of the door and hears Kudo talking in a desperate tone and Heiji talking back quietly that Kazuha just backs out of the room and down the hall.

Heiji was about to get the one thing he had been wanting for for quite some time, and what kind of best friend would she be if she messed that up?

When she does come back again, about half an hour later, all signs of Kudo are gone except for the white hat on the table, she notices the slight swell to Heiji lips still and she pretends not to notice just delivers his present and smiles secretly at him.

For she truly had known all along. Heiji was in love with Kudo, it just turns out that Kudo wasn't a girl, but he and Heiji still fit together perfectly.


	4. Ran

**_Of Sunsets and Shooting Stars: An Anthology_**

_Chapter 4: Ran_

Shinichi had always been sort of a quiet boy. Especially as a kid Ran could still remember when he would stay in his head, deep in thought about something, people around them always thought that Ran had some sort of insight into his mind but in reality she didn't. Ran could piece together a few things from his offhand comments and his looks that gave her a working guess at what he was thinking but Ran secretly assumed that no one besides Shinichi could actually guess what he was thinking.

Their friendship had been very close as kids. Ever since Ran could remember Shinichi had been by her side and she was by his. It was comfortable between them, the friendship they had. She had never thought anything more of it until her other best friend Sonoko began to tease her as a child.

It was never any bad teasing, more often than not Sonoko was her only bar between the kids who actually teased her as a child, since Shinichi was not always around to help her. But it was simply Sonoko poking fun at the relationship between her and Shinichi. It was like her eyes had been opened and Ran herself started to wonder, why wasn't she in a relationship with Shinichi? Something began to grow in her heart then when she would look at Shinichi and she swore it was love.

It wasn't but it'd be a long time before she realized that.

Ran carried these thoughts of love with her through their junior high years and onto high school. Surprisingly enough her dad, who was so overprotective of her in most ways, never changed his attitude when it came to her and Shinichi. Even when she was a child and had proclaimed that she was going to marry him one day, her dad chuckled and patted her on the head.

When they entered high school their bond was still just as strong even though Shinichi spent more time working on cases (for he was the young detective) and Ran was fully immersed with the Karate team (the captain just couldn't miss practices) but it was still there, and Shinichi's mind was still an enigma to her since he was more inwardly drawn than she had remembered before and Ran felt sad she assumed it was a girl he had met that was causing him to be so out of it lately and she ribbed him, since she was his best friend and that is what friends do, the gentle teasing about a girl only caused Shinichi to smirk and lightly deny it and go back into his head or halfheartedly talk to her, Ran still felt as if she was slowly breaking.

The first time Ran ever hears about Heiji Hattori is when Shinichi comes back from some ski resort. He keeps talking of some kid who is supposed to be his rival, or that's what people had told him while they were there. Shinichi had never gotten the chance to actually see him and Ran could only imagine what he would of been like if they had truly met.

Ran honestly forgets about Heiji because things start to change rapidly in her life. One moment she was with Shinichi at a theme park and the next he was gone only to appear through phone calls that came sparingly. The giant hole that he left behind was filled slightly by the boy that she and her dad took in, Conan, but then Heiji literally falls through her front door.

The boy is different than she imagined. For Shinichis supposed rival he seemed pretty normal and for some reason she feels close to him quickly hardly minding at all that he called her sister so quickly after their first meeting.

She likes Heiji enough and he doesn't seem to be to antagonistic with Shinichi when he is mentioned, but the quick bond between Heiji and Conan throws her off some but Ran sums it up to Conan looking up to Heiji like a brother.

It's only when Heiji brings Kazuha in that things slightly change. Kazuha had spent the better part of their first evening eyeing Ran suspiciously and pointing out weird coincidences in her and Heijis wardrobe choice. It's only after Ran changes clothes that Kazuha quietly asks her of her relationship with Heiji and admits the fact that she had thought Ran was Kudo. Ran held back a loud laugh at that and explained who Kudo actually was, that was when she felt a little off. Apparently Heiji saw and talked about Shinichi enough that Kazuha had thought this Kudo was Heiji's secret girlfriend and not her own best friend. It makes her pause in her thoughts and she spends longer than she'd like to admit thinking about that.

Heiji and Kazuha stop by quite often, Ran doesn't mind too much, Conan enjoys them and Ran developed a quick friendship with Kazuha but the disappearances of Heiji to help Shinichi throw her off and she wonders what could be happening that her best friend turns to his rival instead of her.

The unsettling thought that she was being replaced set Ran on a cautious course. She was more aware of how she talked with Shinichi the few times he called and if she pointedly refused to mention Heiji in any conversations…well no one could blame her.

Sonoko had been her support through most of this. Kazuha, who was one of Ran's closest friends at this point, would probably be more loyal to Heiji (Ran secretly suspected the two of them to be pursuing a relationship on the side)and she couldn't just bring it up with Shinichi. But Sonoko sat through all of Ran's confusion and worries and eased her out of them leaving Ran feeling a little silly for overreacting.

But things change when she goes on a case with her father, Shinichi, Heiji and Kazuha. The case seems pretty simple to her and she mostly was excited about getting to stay the night in the client's house because Ran's favorite part about any of the cases was getting to travel.

Her father had quickly taken up a room for himself leaving Ran to sigh in shame and wonder if she could pretend that he wasn't her father. The rooms are obviously divided up between Shinichi and Heiji and her and Kazuha. She still doesn't know what happened in the boys' room (her stay with Kazuha was pleasantly normal) but the next morning both Heiji and Shinichi are out of sorts and dazed. To her left Kazuha had a sort of analytical face and Ran could only wonder what she was possibly figuring out in the early morning.

Ran starts to understand a moment later, when even though they are more distracted than she had ever seen up to that point, the two boys move with a similar synergy. The fill the spaces the other leaves, to Ran it looks like some unspoken dance in the mediocre moments of their lives; at breakfast, walking down the halls, they fill the spaces the other leaves behind and interact all without a moment's thought.

Ran can only wonder if she has ever acted like that with anyone.

The realization comes later that day.

Heiji and Shinichi are solving the case easily the two of them talking in circles picking up the sentence when the other leaves it and that is the moment when Ran realizes that Heiji knows exactly what is going on in Shinichis head. It was an awakening moment for her. The realization came about to her all with a small whispered "oh."

She wondered briefly if she was the only one who didn't see this between the two of them.

Life passes easily after this. Ran meets a boy named Eisuke, introduced to her by Sonoko who had hurriedly whispered in her ear something about double dates and took off, but Eisuke is nice enough and before Ran realized it she was agreeing to date him and officially becoming his girlfriend. She wonders where she must have let her love for Shinichi go.

But then she wonders if it was love that she had even felt for him in the first place.

But then things get really bad. Heiji and Kazuha come back again to help her father and Shinichi on a case and Ran wasn't around for the first part so she wasn't too sure what had happened at first but next thing she knew Shinichi was in the police station, clutching Heiji's white hat like a lifeline.

Apparently someone had fired at Shinichi (her heart is racing at this point why is it always these two getting hurt) and Heiji had taken the hit and gotten kidnapped by someone. Ran remembers something that had happened a while ago.

She, Heiji, Kazuha and Shinichi had all been out together and for some reason Shinichi had come back wearing Heiji's trademark hat which he after a moments deliberation pawned off on her head and the guilt she saw from Shinichi and the anger of Heiji as he stalked away.

She thinks she gets it now. The hat was such a symbolic piece of Heiji it literally represented him and now that he was gone Shinichi was holding tightly to the only reminder of him left. It's like the veil has been removed from her eyes because everything suddenly makes sense.

These two boys (rivals, best friends) were so hopelessly gone for the other. Ran couldn't imagine what would happen if Heiji didn't make it out of this. She finally understands that she was never in love with Shinichi, she had just loved him as family, which he was. She smiled to herself she would be fine with Heiji being the only one to understand Shinichi and his mind, they deserved each other and Ran had no qualms with that.

Her revelation is pushed to the side as Shinichi is drilling out orders to the police to find Heiji and when they have a potential site Shinichi dives into a car, Ran in pursuit. The hat still in his grip, Ran wonders how long he'd hold onto it for. They get there and Shinichi is out the door without a second to spar, Ran follows a little slower and immediately puts her karate to use taking out the captor who tried to stall her.

Ran tunes back in when Shinichi is over Heiji who is unconscious in a chair and yelling for an ambulance. Ran watches with her heart in her throat as Heiji is loaded up and Kazuha boards with him. She breathes easier now that she knows he's on his way to safety. Shinichi is still standing where the ambulance had left him the hat still rests in his hand, though his grip is not as tight. Ran leads him to the car so that they can follow after the ambulance.

Shinichi doesn't say a word the entire ride.

Ran deposits him outside of Heiji's room and joins with Kazuha and the girls break off to go buy Heiji get well presents. Kazuha shares a look with her when they pass by Shinichi who is sitting solemnly outside the room, it's an unspoken agreement that both girls realize what is between their best friends. Ran gives her a small smile and Kazuha exhales in relief.

They drop off the flowers and greet Heiji who has now woken up. Shinichi is still outside but once Ran and Kazuha leave he gets up and looks at the hat in his hand, a contemplative look on his face. Ran watches as he goes in the room and she keeps walking until she's out of the hospital. Kazuha had left her because she had forgotten something and Ran waits for her at the entrance.

She also doesn't ask Kazuha what she had seen in the room to make her smile when she thought no one was looking.

Ran doesn't need to know.

She knows that Heiji and Shinichi love each other and that is all that matters to her.


	5. Kogoro

_**Of Sunsets and Shooting Stars: An Anthology**_

_Chapter 5: Kogoro_

In all reality, Kogoro is not surprised at all that he knows what seems like light years before everyone else.

It's only natural of course; his daughter and her friends are 17 at most, so their experience with love is a ghost of the real thing. Kogoro himself though, he had been in love. He knew what love was and what it looked like.

He had been suspicious of Ran's friendship with Shinichi ever since they were kids and when they got older and nothing really changed between the two, unbeknownst to Shinichi and Ran, Kogoro was relieved.

He liked the Kudo kid but he didn't think he'd enjoy him much dating his daughter; so with no small amount of glee Kogoro sat back content to watch for when his daughter, and even Shinichi, found love.

At first when Ran was little she was convinced that Shinichi was her one true love. Kogoro knew it wasn't true though a small part of him wondered if that would have been how things ended up. Ran even went through a phase of planning her wedding to Shinichi. Which was actually nothing more than her saying she would marry him and then running off to play with the boy.

Kogoro's life changes quickly when Eri leaves him and it's a major blow to him, personally and professionally. The reasons Kogoro left the force were his own and no amount of petty gossip would cause him to say why he really left. A man is entitled to some secrets after all.

Ran turns away from her one sided love affair with Shinichi to try and match up himself and Eri once again, more often than not Shinichi would be dragged along, standing behind Ran a bored look ever present on his face.

Kogoro would just chuckle at their attempts; it wasn't like his life was in shambles. He could be a private detective and even though Eri was gone he had Ran, and by extension Shinichi, to ease the quiet of the house.

As the kids grew it was painfully obvious to Kogoro that Ran had not let go of her childhood crush, much to Kogoro's distaste, and the Shinichi brat was becoming a damn good detective and beating him at every turn. Kogoro had a few moments of childish anger towards the boy, due to both his rapidly surpassed detective skills and the inevitable heartbreak that Ran was setting herself up with Shinichi.

It seemed honestly so surreal when Shinichi just up and disappears at the Carnival.

Kogoro quickly tamped down the giddy part that rejoiced over the opening of new cases now that the boy wonder was out of the picture. A larger part of his brain worried over where he had gone. The boy may have grated on his nerves at every chance, but he had watched the kid grow up and felt some sense of familial obligation towards him. Ran was a quickly devolving ball of nerves, getting worse and worse as the evening went on with nothing more than a call from her best friend.

Kogoro inwardly sighed, Ran definitely thought she was in love with the boy, sadly though Kogoro saw how Shinichi looked at her and there wasn't a questioning friends to lovers on his face, Ran was his best friend and practically his sister and to Shinichi, Kogoro couldn't imagine it getting any deeper than that. He abhorred the thought of when that relationship would come to a head, but for now they actually had to find the boy.

Conan is more or less dumped on their doorstep the following day.

Kogoro is at a loss for words. The boy had literally come out of nowhere and the kid behaved a lot like Shinichi when he was around the same age and he looked similar to. The similarities were uncanny and Ran took to the boy like she had with Shinichi himself and that is how Kogoro found himself taking the boy in despite not wanting to really have to deal with the kid.

But for all Kogoro complained about the extra mouth to feed, there was no way he would have just let a kid fend for himself. He may have been lazy but he wasn't a monster.

The realization comes shortly after the first few cases are solved and Kogoro himself can't remember solving the case but everyone swears that he came up with the conclusions. Kogoro thuds his head into a wall a few times to make sure he isn't sleeping. Not to his surprise, he isn't asleep and he has to face the ugly truth.

The boy Conan is somehow Shinichi. Kogoro can't figure out what exactly happens, but they act the same, both still place with that goddamn soccer ball everywhere, talk the same and Conan is an exact replica of Shinichi at that age. Kogoro would know he watched the boy grow out of it the first time. He can understand why Shinichi didn't reveal the truth, first everyone would think he was crazy and there was obviously someone behind the scenes messing with the boy. So Kogoro was content to act as if he never figured any of it out. If Shinichi were to come out with the truth, well then Kogoro was going to let him do it on his own time. No need to rush him into a dangerous spot.

The disappearance of the actual Shinichi does bring some new guests into the house.

This is how Kogoro found himself face to face with Heiji Hattori, Shinichi's rival he had heard, which meant another cocky detective boy genius. Great. Just what Kogoro wanted.

Something happens between the two boys and obviously Hattori has been let in on Shinichi's secret, more likely he found it out himself, but Kogoro is immensely glad he isn't the only one watching out for this kid's back. The ease at which Shinichi, as Conan, moves in the older boy's presence is alarming at first; if Kogoro didn't know better he'd say those two were the childhood friends. But he supposes it's just two like-minded people orbiting one another.

Heiji doesn't stop dropping by.

Every once in a while, the boy will pop in through their front door, something about another case, or just being in town. Kogoro grumbles to himself because he thought he'd gotten rid of genius teenage detectives. His luck says otherwise.

Once Heiji drops in with his friend Kazuha in tow, and Kogoro tamps down the urge to bark with laughter at the parallel circumstances, and the awkward tension between the trio is passably interesting to him, but not as interesting as one Ms. Yoko Okino so he forgets them quickly enough, all he knows is that things are patched up by the time they all return and that's all that matters to him.

Kogoro again ponders if the Kazuha and Heiji duo share the same one-sided romantic tensions as Ran and Shinichi. The two boys are obviously two sides of the same coin, and from the few times that they do interact when Shinichi has somehow gained back his normal body (Kogoro also wonders why no one questions that absence of Conan in these times) the boys have obviously quickly become best friends.

It happens in one quiet moment when Kogoro was in the background during a case (what usually happens when the two geniuses got together) observing them quietly. Heiji and Shinichi had a way of dancing around each other and filling the spaces where the other would have been and talking in circles together. It reminds him of he and Eri when they were younger together and the thought freezes Kogoro for a moment. A small smirk sliding onto his face as he watched them point out the killer easily, sentences bleeding into the others next line, they had absolutely no idea that they were in love and Kogoro was beside himself in joy with the opportunity to watch this potential wreck play out.

It's almost too perfect when a few weeks later, Kogoro is called onto a case for an old friend and invited to stay at his hotel while solving it. Shinichi who is once again looking like his actual age comes along, Ran bounding after the two of them and Heiji and Kazuha showing up as well. When the rooms are split up Kogoro dives for his own (first and foremost because of seniority dammit), He would not share a room with someone his daughters age, or his daughter herself.

The next morning something has shifted the entire groups dynamic. Heiji and Shinichi are skirting around each other like preteens for god sakes, and Ran and Kazuha seem to watch with a sort of knowing look.

Here is the moment you had been waiting for. It seems the boys have realized their own affections just not each other's, and Ran seems to understand her best friend's feelings and doesn't look to crushed about the loss of what she thought was her first love.

He's still going to be on the lookout for ice cream containers for the next few weeks.

But those don't show up. Something much worse does.

Ran gets a boyfriend and Kogoro briefly considers how justified this murder would be. But when he sees that the kid is nice enough and respects Ran, he is begrudgingly removed from the too be murdered list.

But the list is soon filled up again when some asshole takes a shot at Shinichi, but instead of actually getting Shinichi, Heiji had in a fit of reckless heroics taken the shot and gotten himself kidnapped. Shinichi comes back pale and white knuckled barking out commands and orders. Kogoro feels a fatherly sort of rage build up, the boys may not of been his kids but he had practically raised one and this was inexcusable.

Kogoro is eerily reminded of when Eri had been in a hostage situation and from the look on the kid's face at the moment, if Heiji doesn't come out of this alive, Kogoro can only pray to so many deities that the boy doesn't lose his mind and himself completely.

Kogoro follows his orders and when a potential spot is found and Shinichi and Ran go tearing after it, Kogoro and the rest of the police force are soon to follow. They get there and Kogoro is relived at the lack of carnage, so much could of gone so wrong, and watches in silence in between opponents at the cruel efficiency in the way Shinichi is cutting through the crowd to get to Heiji and Kogoro almost laughs. The kid is still holding onto that damn white hat.

Kogoro is briefly concerned for Heiji while the ambulance is on its way, but he doesn't look too in danger so Kogoro calms down a bit, his worry transfers to Shinichi who he doesn't think he see breathe until Heiji is en route to the hospital.

Kogoro goes to visit and doesn't stop to say anything special to anyone really. Kogoro stops by Heijis room when the boy had first woken up. He passes Ran and Kazuha both on the way to the gift shop, he tells Ran he'll see her at home and nods to the other girl. Then he sees Shinichi still as a statue outside the hospital room and Kogoro pauses long enough to clap the kid on the shoulder and tell him he did well.

Kogoro leaves after that.

A few days later he hears of the relationship between the two boys and Kogoro just smirks, opens a beer, and says "Called it" to no one but himself.

After all it had been plainly obvious to him practically ages ago, it was finally time everyone got on the same page as him.


End file.
